Editorial: Income gap is real and worthy of discussion

As Michael Bloomberg and many of his predecessors have shown, being mayor of the Big Apple comes with a huge megaphone.

Bloomberg used it, in part, to talk about grave health and environmental concerns and then implement policies to make improvements, such as banning smoking in most public places and starting a bike-share program.

New York City's newly elected mayor, Bill de Blasio, appears completely focused on another critically important issue - the economic inequality in his city and throughout the country.

The nation could certainly use the discussion.

Consider:

? Corporate profits and the stock market have done exceedingly well as the country has pulled out of a recession, but the majority of workers have not seen those benefits. As a result, income has dropped for most families but the wealthy have seen their portfolios rebound.

? Millions of jobs were lost during the recession, making companies leaner and more productive but also taking a toll on the overall economy.

? Consumer spending is down because, frankly, too many people have little if any extra income after meeting basic needs, such as food and shelter.

? Census numbers show more working-age adults are picking up low-wage jobs as the economy improves but they are still struggling to pay living expenses.

? Corporations have been reluctant to spend money in this post-recession era, due, in part, to economic and political uncertainty. And, yes, Washington deserves blame for shutting down the government and for the persistent failure of Republicans and Democrats to reach any sort of "grand bargain" over spending priorities.

For his part, de Blasio ran on a campaign of a "tale of two cities," and no wonder. He wants to raise taxes on the highest-wage earners in the city - those earning more than $500,000 a year to pay - and plow more money into education and other services that can help those less fortunate get ahead. While de Blasio won by an impressive margin and has strong public mandate to move forward on his biggest priorities, some of them would require support in Albany.

Time will tell if his approach is successful, but, of course, there should be other factors at play here. They include government being more efficient and cutting down on waste and bureaucracy. They include weeding out fraud and corruption and truly giving people a "hand up, not a hand out." And they include measuring the results of anything that might be tried.

Nevertheless, what de Blasio does bears watching, for it will sure to have some impacts on all of New York - and perhaps the rest of the country.

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Editorial: Income gap is real and worthy of discussion

As Michael Bloomberg and many of his predecessors have shown, being mayor of the Big Apple comes with a huge megaphone.

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